Our adult son, Doug, longed to own a cat for a long
time, but always rejected the idea because two of our grandchildren are allergic
to cats (and he loved his nieces more than his desire for a cat). Our daughter, Deb, hunted online for allergy-free
cats, but we all decided hairless cats were not
our idea of a cat. However, she learned that Russian Blue cats tended to cause
fewer allergies than other cats.
Doug got excited as he contacted two pet shelters.
Wonder of wonders, one of them had a Russian Blue! Rescued from a feral cat
colony (although she wasn’t wild), she had been in the shelter for a year and
three months.
He made Amazon.com quite happy when he ordered all
sorts of cat supplies: a cat carrier, an elaborate cat tree with all the “bells
and whistles,” a cat scratching post, cat bed, bowls for food and water, automated
litter box, wet and dry cat food, cat toys, and even catnip. He did a lot of
research online about cat care, and joined a chat group about cats.
After visiting the two shelters, he decided on the female
Russian Blue he named Saya, and filled
out the paperwork. Anticipation mounted as he (and we) talked about all the fun
he would have with the cat. She’d be good company for a single guy like Doug.
He chose his guest room as the initiation station for Saya,
because he knew from what the shelter (and others) told him that cats can take
weeks to become acclimated to their new surroundings, and he wanted to make it
as easy for her as possible. Some cats take even longer. Doug heard of one guy
in his chat group whose cat took a year to come out of hiding, but today she’s
a lap cat. To prepare for her arrival, he lifted the bedspread on all sides so
he could peer under the bed to see her. He put her water and food bowls on old
towels on the floor and positioned her litter box away from the eating area,
and put some toy mice on the floor.
The
Big Day finally arrived, and he brought her home. (The
shelter told Doug it took three people to get her into the pet carrier!) Poor
Saya. He set the carrier on the floor in his guest room, opened the door of the
carrier slowly, and talked to her in low, gentle tones. She stayed refused to
leave the carrier and stayed frozen in place. But the next time he looked into
the room, the carrier was empty, and after a search with a flashlight, found
her hiding under the bed. Saya didn’t
eat or use the litter box for two days. (He turned off the automated part of
the litter box so it wouldn’t scare her). He went into her room every morning,
knelt on the carpet where she could see him, and opened a can of cat food, put
it in her bowl, gave her fresh water, and walked out. He put pheromone air
plug-ins in the guest room that are designed to make the cat feel at ease.
Doug soon bought two video cameras and installed them
in strategic places to catch her movements, because he was concerned about her
welfare. He hoped and watched for her to leave the hiding place under the bed
and venture out, glad when he saw she’d eaten food, drank water, and used the
litter box. Day after day passed, and one week wove into the next with little
change. We prayed for Saya to become acclimated to her new home. Doug watched camera
video of her nightly treks in a predictable pattern through his living room,
across the window ledges in his office, up the cat tree and back down, across
the kitchen and living room floor, then always back into the safety of hiding
under the guest room bed.
Video clip of Saya
Photo credit: Douglas Beachy
Every day except Wednesdays, he works from home as a Senior Software Engineer with
Acronis, so he decided to sit on the floor near the doorway of Saya’s room with
his computer every morning to help her get used to him. She stayed under the
bed day after day.
We encouraged Doug, saying that one of these days, she
will let him pet her. I saw the emotion on his face as he longed to pet his
cat. She had to learn to trust him, and he couldn’t, nor wanted to, force her.
He agreed with us that one day, sooner or later, he would pet his cat.
Then, on the 28th day, almost 4 weeks to
the day after he brought her home, it happened! His face and voice was full of
emotion as he told us, “Today I petted my cat.” I gave Doug a celebratory hug
and rejoiced with him! He sent us video camera footage later on of the happy event of
him lying on the floor in her room as he held out his hand to Saya. She came to
him and rubbed her head against his hand, walked alongside his body and let him
stroke her spine, tail straight up in the air.
There are spiritual parallels to the natural, and Doug’s
cat, Saya, is one such example. I had to think how God woos us to come to Him,
trust Him, relate to Him, and be friends with Him. But so often people have life
and “pre-rescue” issues that make it hard to do that. Aren’t you glad God is
patient with us, understands us, and sends others to help us have faith in Him?
I am.
I think of the scripture verse in Psalm 103:14, “For
He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Even after we have been
rescued by Him from Satan’s grasp, many of us have difficulty trusting Him. We
are used to self-protection and self-preservation. Many of us have been made to
feel afraid of making a misstep in our Christian walk, afraid of being judged
by God, so we draw back from Him and try to hide. We’ve been made to feel guilty
by religious teaching instead of being established in righteousness and grace. He
understands our insecurities and wounds, and longs to heal us, longs to
befriend us. God waits for us to respond to Him. He is a Gentleman, and will
not force Himself on anybody. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8
Jesus holds out His hand to each of us and says, “Come
to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My
yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
He’s waiting patiently with a heart full of longing
and love for your response. Will you come to Him? Will you let Him touch you?
*All scripture references are from the NKJV.
Copyright
© 2016 Elaine Beachy
